Ad0911

Is the current oil pan gasket as produced by Victor Reinz any good? It is made out of cork and neoprene (black rubbery stuff). The original from 1978 (not so good) was red material which lost its elastic properties during its 29 year life. I read about silicone gaskets. These must be really good but my "Full engine gasket set" has the cork/neoprene gasket. Do I reaaly need to buy the silicone gasket to prevent my car from oildripping?

RyanPerrella

not when compared to the silicone gasket

I think the list price for the OE gasket is $25, you can get them for like $18, but the job is so labor intensive, i would just pay the $38 for the silicone gasket and call it a day.

glork98

Go with OEM.

A bit of high-temp RTV (or other sealant) around the outer edge will keep it sealed. Lightly tighten the nuts and keep going around until they're not yielding any more. Don't crush the gasket.

Porsche went with that odd, thick gasket for a reason. That's either to keep the crank away from the pan or for thermal resistance, depending on who's doing the thinking.

SeanR

Go with the gasket that Rog100 has, you won't have to worry about it again.

RyanPerrella

porsche went with that gasket because silicone wasnt available

glork98

The material is traditional. The thickness is not. I'm not sure when silicone gaskets made their appearance.

I've used a thinner gasket and thought it OK but went back to OEM. A bit more work to use "best practices" but it's in the kit. Also, the aftermarket one didn't fit as precisely as the OEM does.

Ad0911

The material is similar to the gaskets for VW-beetle cilinderheadcovers. I mea the covers that you take off to adjust the valve clearance. They didn't all that well but that may be because the covers weren't always flat. They warped over time.

Bill Ball

The silicone gasket is as thick as the OEM and should be less likely to crush and crack over time. I usually stick with OEM parts, but I just installed one of the silicone gaskets in a 90 I've been helping repair.

RyanPerrella

I have a silicon gasket used for a year for sale, its in as new condition, no cracks, i bought two and have just one engine now so if someone wants my spare they can for $20 shipped. I'll take a pic if i must.

ROG100

The silicone gasket is the exact some shape and size of the OEM gasket.
We used an OEM gasket to make the cutting die.
Why anyone would use a cork gasket in this day and age is beyond my thinking.
The cork gasket is the reason why our cars develope oil leaks. They shrink and the bolts fall out.
Each to there own.
just my 2 cents

Ad0911

This gasket hasn't been used on a car? Just for displaying purposes? In that case I'm am more than willing to buy it fro you. Paypal? Please calculate shipping to Netherlands.

Thanks.

RyanPerrella

No it was used on a car, its clean and dry, it was torqued down and used for about 5K miles. It was pulled when i pulled the engine. The only difference from a brand new one is the impressions from the oil pan surface when it was torqued down. These are reuseable, otherwise i wouldnt even consider selling it. It dosent look like new because of the impressions from the oil pan but i am very confident that it is going to perform exactly as it should.

Let me know, I will have to calculate shipping to the netherlands, please post a postal code.

If anyone else wants the OPG let me know, first PM gets it.

ROG100

As Ryan states these are reusable and as far as his is concerned it is as good as new and a bargain at 50% of the new price.

Mako 928

When I did my steering rack mototr mounts GTS oil pan baffle and rod bearings I used a factory gasket along W/ Honda bond 4 semi-drying sealer. I coated oil pan and gasket lightly and dipped the bolts in Honda bond and snugged them up. That was 3 years ago and no loose bolts or leaks. Thats just my experience.

1985 S 5speed

Schocki

Yep, don't go with cork! My shark was the first with a silicone gasket (installed in the beginning of 2004). The car is bone dry since. I also sold about 50 gaskets to Germany and also Anchor Motor Mounts, everybody is very happy so far.

What makes the cork shrink, is the pressure from the bolts, heat and also the fact that most cars sat on the oil pan due to failed motor mounts. Most oil pan bolts on an original gasket can be removed with your fingers...